Bill Hand's New Bern

1629-1729:

1629: The First Proprietor. All you ever wanted to know about Sir Robert Heath and his very funny hat.

1660: Happy Birthday North Carolina! My own vaguely controversial stab at identifying Tar Heel's birth.

1663: John Locke (no, not from Lost!), Lord Cooper and the Carolina Constitutions.

1672: George Fox visits North Carolina. It was the Quakers, and not the Anglicans, who first brought the Word of God to what would become the Old North State.

Our Founding: Observations on the founding of New Bern.

1709: The Curious story of New Bern's founding citizens—the Palatines.

1714: The Battle of Fort Neohoroka: a look at the climactic battle of the Tuscarora War.

1729: The birth of North Carolina's best-known colonial governor.

1730-1800:

1752: Counterfeiters: Counterfeiting was a serious crime in Colonial days, causing serious harm and resulting in serious consequences for those who were caught trying it.

1763: Founding Teacher: Thomas Tomlinson had his work cut out for him at the New Bern Academy.

1764: William Tryon's Atlantic Crossing: Our greatest colonial governor had a little adventure on the way.

1765: The Death of Arthur Dobbs: A brief look at the final years of this interesting colonial governor.

1767: Great Wolf: Governor Tryon sets the Cherokee boundary in western North Carolina.

1770: Colonial medicine: Our forefathers had to grin and survive and bear it.

1772: The Christmas Church: The founding of Centenary United Methodist Church.

1780: When the Neuse River froze over ferryman Mr. Williams celebrated with a ball.

1789: North Carolina Signs the Bill of Rights: When it comes to important things, North Carolina takes its time.

1790: A Day at the Races: New Bern's colonial race track.

1791: The Tragic Death of Miss Margaret Tryon. As a little girl at Tryon Palace, this colonial governor's daughter had no inkling of the creepy fate in store for her.

1792: The USRC Diligence, forefather of the modern Coast Guard cutter, is stationed in New Bern.

1801-1865:

Antebellum: A look at African American slave holders.

1809: The Drowning of Amos Madden. Following clues from a tombstone to discover a curious event.

1813: The Henry-Stanly duel. Thomas Stanly follows in his brother's footsteps... and loses.

1825: Charlie Roach. The black sheep of New Bern.

1829: The Invention of the revolving-chamber gun: Was it really Samuel Colt's or a New Bern man's?

1830: Dog laws: And you think today's leash laws are tough?

1836: Athens of North Carolina. New Bern has always been known for its theater performances.

1854: Captain Robert's Spider Lilies.

1855: The Gaston House: New Bern's finest hotel opens its doors.

1861: Phrenology: The quack science was alive and well in antebellum New Bern.

Civil War:

1861: Fort Sumter's collapse wasn't exactly scorn
ed in New Bern.

1861: North Carolina reacts to Lincoln's call for troops.

1861: A Confederate Yankee in Christ Church's Court.

1862: The foibles of Confederate Colonel (and minister) James Sinclair in the Battle of New Bern.

1862: Gabriel Rains invention, the land mine, claims its first victim.

1863: Wilkie James and the 54th Massachusetts: New Bern's tie-in to the author Henry James and to the famous 54th Massachusetts Colored Regiment.

1864: The Confederates gain a victory in New Bern with the sinking of the Union gunboat Underwriter.

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Bill Hand's New Bern